Thursday, February 26, 2009

Ignatius Press is working with Joseph Pearce to produce the Ignatius Critical Editions series. These are critical editions of the classics of literature that approach them from a traditional moral vantage point, rather than the modernist, feminist, deconstructionist view which dominates academia today. They even have corresponding study guides to help teach from these editions!

The Ignatius Critical Editions represent a tradition-oriented alternative to popular textbook series such as the Norton Critical Editions or Oxford World Classics, and are designed to concentrate on traditional readings of the Classics of world literature. While many modern critical editions have succumbed to the fads of modernism and postmodernism, this series will concentrate on tradition-oriented criticism of these great works.

Edited by acclaimed literary biographer Joseph Pearce, the Ignatius Critical Editions will ensure that traditional moral readings of the works are given prominence, instead of the feminist or deconstructionist readings that often proliferate in other series of 'critical editions'. As such, they represent a genuine extension of consumer choice, enabling educators, students, and lovers of good literature to buy editions of classic literary works without having to 'buy into' the ideologies of secular fundamentalism.

The series is ideal for anyone wishing to understand the great works of Western civilization, enabling the modern reader to enjoy these classics in the company of some of the finest literature professors alive today.

There are half a dozen titles out already, with many more on the way. Here's what they have so far: